Electrically controlled gas valve



April 29, 1941. A, N ROTH 2,240,079

ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED GAS VALVE Filed March 14, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: ADOLF N. ROTH BY 2 y ATTORNEY.

April 29, 1941. ROTH ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED GAS VALVE INVENTOR:

ADOLF N. ROTH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2.

Filed March 14, 1939 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 1941 g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,240,019 anac'rmcmr CONTROLLED GAS VALVE neon NJtoth, San Francisco, Calif.

Application March 14, 1939, Serial No. 261,755

1 Claim. (Cl. sm-139) 'lhis invention relates to improvements in electrically controlled gas valves and, more particularly, to slow-opening gasvalves.

In many instances it is desirable to avoid an initial rapid delivery or fuel gas to gas burners to insure against explosive ignition oi the gas.

blowing out at the pilot flame, and other considerations. To accomplish this end, diaphragm operated gas valves have been generally adopted in this art, wherein opening 01 the valve is effected at the desired slow rate by adjustably restricting the admission of the operative gas pressure into the diaphragm chamber. In closing the valve the gas impounded in the diaphragm chamber is conducted therefrom through a special vent line to the burner chamber.

It is the purpose of the present'invention to.

remedy the principal defects of conventional slow opening gas valves. r

Among the objects of the invention is to bleed the impounded gas pressure from the diaphragm chamber in closing the valve through the delivery side of the valve to the gas burner. This obviates the expense of providing a special vent line for the p rpose, as necessary heretofore, thus materially reducing the expenditure of skilled labor in installing the valve.

Another object is to so design the gas valve that it will be unafiected by transient fluctuations of the pressure in the service main. I

Another object is to provide means for closing the gas valve at a predetermined rate so as to avoid abrupt cutting oi! oi the gas flow to the burner with. consequent explosive extinction of .the gas flame.

A further objectis to render the structure reliable in operation and simple-and inexpensive of manufacture.

Other objects and advantages appear as this description progresses.

In this specification and the'accompanying --drawings, the invention is disclosed in its preierred form; but'it is to be understood that it may be embodied in other terms within the purview of the claim iollowing the description.

In the two sheets 01 drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly invertical section, of a gas valve constructedin accordance with the present invention.

ends into which the pipes l and 5 are screwed.- These.pipes communicate respectively with the fuel gas service main and the gas burner, not shown, the fuel supply of which is controlled by the present valve. The partition 6 divides the interior 0! the valvebodyd into the inlet chamber A and the delivery chamber B. The inlet chamber A extends upwardly through the top of the valve ,body i and is closed by the cover I. which is secured to the flange 8 of the body I by the bolts 9. The gasket I 0 is interposed between the cover I and the gauge 8 to prevent gas leakage. The annulus ll, threaded in the partition and has the nut I screwed thereon to securely retain the washer ll within the 'valve member ii. The lock nutl1, threaded on the lower end of the neck J5, has the spider l8 radiating there- :lrom, which slidably engages the interior of the annulus II to guide the descent of the valve The valve is operated by the diaphragm I 9 which has its margins clamped between the annulus 20 and the shell 2| which is secured to the bottom 01' the body I by screws such as 22. The gasket 23 is interposed between the shell 2! and the body I to prevent gas leakage therebetween. The auxiliary diaphragm 24 has its edges clamped between the annulus 20 and the lower shell 25, thus iorming the chamber 0 between the diaphragms. The marginal flange oi the shell 2|, the annulus 20,- and the lower shell 25 are all drawn together by bolts such as "extending therethrough.

4 The central portion of the diaphragm is is conilned between the disks 2! and 28 which are clamped together between the nuts 29 and 30 The'stem slidably extends upwardly through the top of. the shell ll'and the bottom of the body I.

The neck is hollow. and receives the upwardly projecting end of the stem ii. The fibrous washer Ii 18 provided within the head 33 otthe stem Fig. 2 is a vertical section, somewhat enlarged,

oi the same taken along the line II-II, Fig. 1.

In detail. the construction illustrated in the drawings comprises the hollow 'valvebody i hav- I ing the inlet 2 and the outlet 3 atlts pposite bctween the lower end oi the neck I! and the ii in juxtaposition to the end of the stem 3| and is adapted to bev engaged therebyto seal the stem against gas flow therethrough when the valve is "in operative position, as hereinafter described. The spring I4 encircles the stem II and expands shoulder 35 intermediate the length of the stem. This spring urges the stem 3| downwardly to normally maintain the end of the stem disengaged from the washer 32 so as to permit flow of gas from the chamber C, through the stem 3| and the neck l5,v into the outlet chamber B when the valve is closed, as shown in the drawings.

When the diaphragms are inoperatively collapsed, the diaphragm |9' rests on the bar 36 extending across the diaphragm chamber C and having its ends supported within notches such as 31 in the annulus 20.

Gas under pressure is supplied to the diaphragm chamber Cthrough the passage 43 which discharges into the notch 31 and communicates Y with the horizontal passage 44 in the shell 2|. The needle valve 45 is threaded inthe shell 2| and cooperates with the tapered seat 46 provided the chamber D. The tapered valve seat 49 at the bottom of the chamber D communicates with -the passage 48 but' is normally closed by the frusto-conical valve 53 resting thereon. The

stem 54 of this valve is slidably guidedwithin the hollow hub 55 of the bushing The valve 53 is magnetically operated by the solenoid 56 which encircles the hub 55. To this end, the valve 53 and its stem 54 are composed of soft iron, while the bushing 5| is of non-ferromagnetic material. The solenoid 56, when en ergized, willthus attract the stem 54 and unseat the'valve 53. The solenoid 56 is held on the hub by the bolt 59 and is enclosed with the cylindrical housing 51 which is fixed on the spider 58 interposed between the solenoid 56 and the bolt 59. The top of the housing 51 is closed by the cover 51'- The solenoid 56 is usually automatically con-' trolled by a conventional thermostat or. pressurestat, although a. manual switch may be used if desired; The wire 66' is connected to one side of the solenoid 56 and leads through the hole 64 in the housing 51 toa suitable source of current such as the transformer 6|, and is connected to the wire 62 through the switch 63 which can be operated by any suitable thermostatic or pressurestatic control. The wire 62 may be directly connected to theopposite side of the solenoid 56, However, it is usual to interpose a thermoswitch in the circuit of the solenoid which is controlled by the heat of the pilot flame inthe combustion chamber. Should the pilot light be extinguished for any reason, the circuit of the solenoid would thus bebroken, preventing opening of the gas supply valve and insuring against the dangerous and wasteful release of unignlted gas. In this case, the wire 62 .extends across the housing 51 through the hole 65 on its opposite .side and is connected to the thermo-switch 66. The wire 61 connects the opposite pole of the switch 66 to-the solenoid 56. The wires 65, 62,

providing an auxiliary outlet box as has been usual in practice heretofore.

the switch 63 is closed by its automatic control means or manually. Current then flows from the source 6| across the closed switch 63 and the normally closed thermo-switch 66, through the solenoid 56, and back to the source 6|. The solenoid 56, thus energized, attracts the stem 54 and unseats the valve 53. Gas at service main pressure then flows from the inlet chamber A through'the passage 52, past the unseated valve 53, through the passage 46, the duct 41, the passage 44, and past the needle valve 45, and

through the passage 43to the diaphragm cham- Since the end of .the tubular stem 3| is normal-ly disengaged from the washer 32, a relatively small amount of gas flows from the chamber C, through the stem 3| and the hollow bolt I5' into'the outletchamber B. However, since the amount of the gas thus discharged from the chamber C is less than the amount being supplied thereto through the passage 43, the pressure in the chamber C gradually rises. The diaphragm' i9 is then expanded upwardly and raises the stem 3|, compressing the spring 34, until the upper end'of the stem 3| engages the washer 32 and cuts oilthe flow of'gas therepast.

The continued expansion of the diaphragm |9 then raises the valve l3 at aspeed which is predetermined by the adjustment of the needle valve 45 which regulates the rate the gas is delivered to the chamber C, as previously described. The optimum speed of the opening of the valve l3 will vary with the particular type of burner and combustion chamber in conjunction with which the valve is used. At the end of the opening cycle, 3

further movement of the valve |3 is arrested by thehead 33 engaging the cover 1,.

The impounded pressure in the diaphragm chamber C, which has been closed by the end of the stem 3| engaging the seat 32, then builds maining open to its maximum extent despitepressure drops at C due totransient variations in service main pressure.

When conditions render it desirable to close the valve l3, the switch 63 is opened by its conv trol means, thus de-energizing the solenoid 56.

and 61 are preferably enclosed within conduits,

not shown, well known in the, electrical art. The present provision of the multiple openings 64 and 65 in the housing 51 obviates the necessity for The valve-53, being no longer attracted, descends 'under its own weight and seats itself at 49, cutting off the diaphragm chamber C from com- -munication with the inlet chamber A. The pressure inthe chamber C then falls slightly due todiffusion through the diaphragms andto other inevitable slow leaks. This allows the diaphragm l9 to descend slightly under the tension of the spring 34, lowering the end of the stem 3| from engagement with the seat 32. Gasthen is bled from the chamber C through the tubular stem 3| and flows down the hollow bolt l5 into the outlet chamber B The consequent gradual reduction of pressure in the chamber permits the diaphragm I! to contract, allowing the valve ii to descend under its own weight. The spider ll guides this descent of the valve II which finally seats itself at I! as shown in the drawings. The rate of the closing of the valve l3 depends upon the capacity of the tubular stem 3| which bleeds the chamber C. Since the optimum rate of the closure of the fuel gas valve is substantially equal for all the common types of gas furnaces, the rate or the bleeding of the chamber 0 can be predetermined by selecting appropriate internal dimensions for the hollow stem 3| without the necessity for providing means for adjusting this flow.

In the event 0! electric power failure. the gas valve can be operated by manual manipulation of the bypass needle valve 69. Opening this valve allows gas to flow from the chamber A through the passages ll, l1, l4, and 43, to the chamber 0. ,The diaphragm I! then expands and operates the valve 13 in the manner hereinbei'ore described. a

Having thus described this invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A fuel valve comprising abody having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber separated by a partition; a valve seat formed in the partition; a valvehead in cooperative relation with said seat normally held seated by fluid pressure in the inlet chamber: a recess in said valve head recess; a passage from said inlet chamber to" the pressure chamber; and means in said passage to control the admission of pressure fluid from the inlet chamber to the pressure chamher. the flow capacity of said passage being greater than that of the hollow stem, whereby the valve is opened and flow through said stem shut off when suflioient fuel under pressure is admitted to the pressure chamber.

- ADOLF N. ROTH. 

